Rajiv Kumar came back from US; built Manusis Tech, a Rs 2 cr mobile and web app firm

It was Rajiv Kumar's desire to live close to his parents that forced him to quit his high-paying job in the US and return to India in 2005. He was 28 years old. Kumar's parents lived in Delhi, but the city offered limited opportunities for IT professionals. So, he had to move to Bangalore. "I got a job as senior product manager at Oracle at one-third the pay I was getting in the US," he says.

Kumar graduated with a degree in Technology and Communications from the National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, in 1998. Including his one-year stint at Oracle, he had close to nine years in work experience when he was approached by a former colleague who was planning to start his own venture. Waterfall Mobile, the venture, was set up to design Web-based software products for mobile campaigns and offer emergency notification management services.

Kumar accepted the offer to head its engineering segment. After two years in service, he left the firm in October 2008. "My growth was getting stifled. Also, I had gained enough experience and, I thought, 'if I had to work so hard, I might as well start my own company'," says Kumar.

And, thus was born Manusis Technologies, a Rs 2-crore (2013-14 revenues) software development firm specialising in building Web and mobile applications. Kumar explains the coinage: "As per Hindu beliefs, Manu was the creator of mankind, and Sis is an abbreviation for Software Integrating Systems, hence the name Manusis."

Kumar had around Rs4 lakh in savings. He used it to lease office space and to get the office infrastructure in place. Manusis got its first client in January 2009. Kumar hired four IT professionals, and the firm was in business. It recorded a turnover of Rs20 lakh in 2008-09.

In order to stay near his parents, in 2011, Kumar moved to Delhi. "By 2011, our turnover was around Rs1 crore and we had a staff of 11. But I had to shift base to Delhi. Several of my staff members were not ready to move and I had to let go of them," says Kumar. In January, Manusis launched storehippo. com. It helps retailers sell their products and services online via e-stores.

StoreHippo has created more than 50 e-stores since its launch and has bolstered the company's topline. "For the year ended March 2014, our turnover touched around Rs 2 crore. This year, we are aiming to create more than 2,000 stores through our StoreHippo segment," says Kumar.

Bangalore continues to be Manusis's registered office, but it operates from Gurgaon, Delhi NCR. "We have a staff of 22 which we aim to increase to 40 in the next six months keeping StoreHippo's expansion plans in mind," says Kumar.

The company has set a revenue target of Rs 5 crore for 2016-17. Kumar is confident: "Before, we did not advertise to get projects. But, now, we have some aggressive plans to market the new venture," he says.